Baffle assembly for heat exchanger

ABSTRACT

A baffle assembly for a heat exchanger housing is provided. The baffle assembly further includes a plurality of baffles positioned within the heat exchanger housing. The plurality of baffles is provided in an offset arrangement with respect to each other. The plurality of baffles have a generally disc shape having a plurality of guides. The plurality of guides defines an aperture therein. The apertures are configured to receive one of a plurality of tubes therethrough. The baffle assembly also includes a retention assembly associated with the plurality of baffles for securely holding the plurality of tubes passing through the respective baffle therewithin. The retention assembly includes an adhesive provided between an interface of each tube of the plurality of tubes and each guide of the plurality of guides.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a heat exchanger, and more particularly to a baffle arrangement for a tube bundle of the heat exchanger.

BACKGROUND

A heat exchanger or an oil cooler associated with an engine system generally includes a plurality of tubes that allow a passage of coolant therethrough in order to exchange heat and thereby cool the oil flowing over the tubes. The tubes are arranged to form a tube bundle, and this bundle is provided within a core or housing of the oil cooler. The tubes are generally positioned through baffles that provide stability and support to the tubes.

However, the tubes may be exposed to a multitude of forces due to hydraulic dynamics during operation of the engine. This may lead to damage or fretting of the tubes. Further, due to relative movement between the tubes and the baffles, friction between the tubes and the baffles may increase, causing breakage of walls of the tubes and thereby leading to failure. In order to reduce or prevent this movement, glue or any suitable adhesive is used to secure every row of the tubes within the baffle. However, applying glue to every aperture in the baffle to secure the tubes therein is a laborious, time consuming procedure having high associated costs.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,520,868 describes a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger includes a plurality of longitudinally-extending tubes disposed within a shell. The heat exchanger also includes baffle plates with apertures. The tubes are provided through the apertures of the baffle plates for support and alignment. The baffle plates are adhesively bonded to external surface of at least some of the tubes to establish an initial position for assembly purposes. However, the patent reference does not disclose a retention assembly for the tubes and the baffles that provides support and counter fretting, as described in the present disclosure.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a baffle assembly for a heat exchanger housing is described. The baffle assembly further includes a plurality of baffles positioned within the heat exchanger housing. The plurality of baffles is provided in an offset arrangement with respect to each other. The plurality of baffles have a generally disc shape having a plurality of guides. The plurality of guides defines an aperture therein. The apertures are configured to receive one of a plurality of tubes therethrough. The baffle assembly also includes a retention assembly associated with the plurality of baffles for securely holding the plurality of tubes passing through the respective baffle therewithin. The retention assembly includes an adhesive provided between an interface of each tube of the plurality of tubes and each guide of the plurality of guides.

Other features and aspects of this disclosure will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary tube bundle for an oil cooler, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of depicting components of the oil cooler, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is another perspective view of the oil cooler of FIG. 2, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a front view of a baffle of the oil cooler of FIG. 2, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a partial setup of the oil cooler of FIG. 2, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or the like parts. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an exemplary tube bundle 100 for a heat exchanger associated with an engine system is shown. The heat exchanger is embodied as an oil cooler 102. Oil generally flows through the engine system for lubrication of engine components, and also to reduce surplus heat from surfaces of the engine components. As the engine components heat up during an operation thereof, a temperature of the oil also increases. The oil may require cooling in order to maintain the temperature of the oil below a threshold limit.

The oil cooler 102 disclosed herein is configured to cool the oil flowing through various components of the engine system. In one embodiment, the oil cooler 102 may embody a radiator. A coolant may be used for cooling the oil flowing through the oil cooler 102. The coolant used for a particular application may vary based on a type of the oil cooler 102. In the illustrated embodiment, the oil cooler 102 is embodied as a liquid-to-liquid cooler, the coolant is any engine coolant known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. In one example, water may be used as the coolant. Alternatively, the coolant may be a mixture of water and an antifreeze solution, wherein the antifreeze solution may include ethylene glycol or propylene glycol.

It should be noted that the coolant flowing through the engine system may serve as a primary cooling source of the engine components. This coolant may be further directed towards the oil cooler 102 for cooling of the oil flowing therethrough. In an alternate embodiment, the oil cooler 102 may be embodied as an air-to-liquid cooler, wherein air may be used as a coolant for cooling purposes. The air may flow through the oil cooler 102 either at an ambient pressure or may be compressed to increase a pressure thereof. Alternatively, the oil cooler 102 may embody any heat exchanger known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. The oil cooler 102 may be associated with the engine system used for marine and/or automobile applications.

The oil cooler 102 includes a heat exchanger housing 104, hereinafter referred to as a housing 104, (see FIGS. 2 and 5). The housing 104 is embodied as a hollow structure, for example a hollow tube, defining an interior space 106 therewithin. The housing 104 of the illustrated embodiment has a circular cross-section. Alternatively, the cross-section of the housing 104 may be square, rectangular, elliptical, and the like. Further, the housing 104 may have an inlet (not shown) and an outlet (not shown) for an ingress and egress of the oil for cooling thereof. The housing 104 may be made of a known metal or polymer, based on an application thereof.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, the tube bundle 100 is positioned within the oil cooler 102. The tube bundle 100 includes a plurality of tubes 110. The housing 104 of the oil cooler 102 is provided in a surrounding contacting relationship with the plurality of tubes 110. Each tube 110 of the tube bundle 100 may embody any of a circular tube, pipe, or conduit defining a flow passage therewithin. The flow passage of the tubes 110 is configured to allow the coolant to flow therethrough. In an alternate embodiment, the oil to be cooled may flow through the flow passages of the tubes 110, whereas the coolant may flow over the tubes 110. Further, the tube bundle 100 includes a baffle assembly 101. The baffle assembly 101 includes a plurality of baffles 112 positioned within the housing 104. As shown in FIG. 5, the tubes 110 are further received between end plugs 502 provided at two extremities of the housing 104 of the oil cooler 102. The end plugs 502 are also configured to prevent any contamination that may occur due to leakage among the tubes 110. The end plugs 502 also provide structural support to the tubes 110 during operation.

The baffles 112 may be provided at different locations along a length of the tube bundle 100. Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 3 and 5, the baffles 112 are provided in an offset arrangement 113 with respect to each other. Each of the baffles 112 are placed inverted in a successive manner. Referring to FIG. 4, the baffle 112 has a substantially disc-like shape having a plurality of guides 114. The plurality of guides 114 defines apertures 115 provided across a surface area of the baffle 112. The apertures 115 are through holes. The tubes 110 of the tube bundle 100 pass through the apertures 115 of the baffles 112 (see FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 5). Accordingly, each tube 110 may pass through the apertures 115 of the different baffles 112 at distinct locations along a length of the housing 104 of the oil cooler 102. The baffles 112 may be made of plastic. The tubes 110 of the oil cooler 102 may be made of any metal or polymer known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. In one example, the tubes 110 may be made of copper.

It should be noted that a cross section of the tube bundle 100 corresponds to a cross section of the housing 104, so that the tube bundle 100 may be received within the interior space 106 of the housing 104. In the illustrated embodiment, the tube bundle 100 has a circular cross section. However, based on the cross section of the housing 104, the cross section of the tube bundle 100 may vary and include any of a square, rectangular, or elliptical shape.

The baffle assembly 101 further includes a retention assembly 120 associated with the baffles 112. The retention assembly 120 is configured to securely hold the tubes 110 passing through the respective baffles 112. In reference to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the retention assembly 120 includes an adhesive 122. The adhesive 122 may be any state of the art known substance applied to the surfaces of materials that bind the tubes 110 and the baffles 112 and resists separation.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the adhesive 122 is provided in each of the plurality of guides 114, and in turn the apertures 115 that are positioned at a periphery 402 of the baffles 112, i.e., the adhesive 122 is provided within the apertures 115 that are positioned at the periphery 402 of the baffles 112 in such a manner so as to circumferentially surround the tubes 110 of the tube bundle 100, such that the adhesive 122 is provided between an interface of each tube 110 of the plurality of tubes 110 and each guide 114 of the plurality of guides 114. The adhesive 122 may be provided on both sides of the baffles 112 for securely holding the tubes 110 (see FIG. 3). In one embodiment, additional adhesive 122 may be applied in a linear manner across multiple apertures 115 falling within a row on the baffle 112. The quantity of the adhesive 122 applied at the apertures 115 positioned at the periphery 402 of each baffle 112 may vary as per the system requirements. The adhesive 122 may be provided circumferentially surrounding the tubes 110 that pass through the apertures 115 positioned at the periphery 402 of each baffle 112 after the tube bundle 100 is arranged through the respective baffle 112. Alternatively, the adhesive 122 may be provided within the apertures 115 positioned at the periphery 402 of each of the baffles 112 and then the tubes 110 may be arranged therethrough.

It should be noted that the accompanying figures are for exemplary purposes. Dimensions, such as, a diameter of the housing 104, the tube bundle 100, and the tubes 110 may vary based on an application size. The number of tubes 110 per tube bundle 100 may also vary, and is based on the size of the housing 104 and the operational requirements of the engine system.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The industrial applicability of the baffle assembly 101 of the tube bundle 100 described herein will be readily appreciated from the foregoing discussion. As described earlier, the baffle assembly 101 includes the retention assembly 120 associated with the each of the plurality of baffles 112 for securely holding the plurality of tubes 110 passing through the apertures 115 of the respective baffles 112. The retention assembly 120 includes the adhesive 122 provided in each of the apertures 115 of the guides 114 positioned at the periphery 402 of the baffle 112, i.e., the adhesive 122 is provided at the apertures 115 that are positioned at the periphery 402 of the respective baffle 112 in such a manner so as to circumferentially surround the interface between the tubes 110 and the guides 114.

The wave like pattern of the adhesive 122 achieves equivalence in operation and structural strength to the tube bundle 100 and counters fretting among the tubes 110, thereby avoiding breakage of the tubes 110 and failure of the oil cooler 102. Such use of the adhesive 122 of the retention assembly 120 is cost effective, easy to assemble, contributes less weight to the oil cooler 102 and securely holds the tubes 110 within the baffles 112. Further the baffle assembly 101 of the tube bundle 100 described herein is a simple configurable structure that can be easily retrofitted on pre-existing heat exchanger or oil cooler housings with minimal modifications and cost inclusions. The tube bundle 100 is easily replaceable in view of any maintenance or service related aspects.

While aspects of the present disclosure have been particularly shown and described with reference to the embodiments above, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various additional embodiments may be contemplated by the modification of the disclosed machines, systems and methods without departing from the spirit and scope of what is disclosed. Such embodiments should be understood to fall within the scope of the present disclosure as determined based upon the claims and any equivalents thereof. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A baffle assembly for use with a heat exchanger housing, the baffle assembly comprising: a plurality of baffles positioned within the heat exchanger housing, wherein each of the plurality of baffles are provided in an offset arrangement with respect to each other, each of the plurality of baffles having a generally disc shape, each of the plurality of baffles having a plurality of guides, the plurality of guides each defining an aperture therein, each of the apertures configured to receive one of a plurality of tubes therethrough; and a retention assembly associated with each of the plurality of baffles for securely holding the plurality of tubes passing through the respective baffle therewithin, wherein the retention assembly includes an adhesive provided between an interface of each tube of the plurality of tubes and each guide of the plurality of guides. 